From nursing student to instructor

Wyman Pierce, left talks with students recently at Chautauqua Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in DeFuniak Springs. The Walton Career Development Center’s Practical Nursing Program is 10 years old this year.

NICK TOMECEK / Daily News

By KATIE TAMMEN / Daily News

Published: Friday, October 25, 2013 at 06:10 PM.

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Walton County Career Development Center instructor Wyman Pierce knows better than most what’s running through his students’ minds.

Less than a decade ago, Pierce was a student at the school, working toward his licensed practical nursing certification just like the people he’s teaching now.

“I’m excited about it,” he said of teaching. “It’s almost like, ‘Wow! I can’t believe I’ve gotten to this point in my life.’ ”

Pierce was hired in September as one of the program’s clinical instructors.

In the years since he graduated from the school, Pierce earned his registered nursing certification and worked in a hospital before returning to Chautauqua Rehab as a supervisor last year.

The 52-year-old took a roundabout approach to the nursing profession, applying to programs twice and then finding reasons not to go. Instead, he did a short stint in the Army before going into furniture building full time. He came full circle about seven years ago when a back surgery prompted him to reconsider his first career choice.

“I do believe everything lined up for a reason,” Pierce said.

The offer not only to apply his skills but to teach them came from a former instructor of Pierce’s, Trecia Meadows, who now oversees the program at the Career Development Center.

She approached him one day over the summer and asked if he’d be interested.

“I said, ‘What? I’ve never thought of teaching,’ ” Pierce recalled.

Meadows said from her perspective Pierce was an ideal candidate for the job. He was a supervisor at one of the school’s top clinical training locations and was a great student who had been recognized by his peers with a leadership award and a bedside manner award.

“He’s very driven, and I like that,” Meadows said.

Pierce said he accepted the offer because he’d always enjoyed educating patients, and this was a way to ensure the kind of care he believed in continued.

“I don’t think I’ll ever give up the clinical just to teach,” he said. “I want the best of both worlds.”

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Walton County Career Development Center instructor Wyman Pierce knows better than most what’s running through his students’ minds.

Less than a decade ago, Pierce was a student at the school, working toward his licensed practical nursing certification just like the people he’s teaching now.

“I’m excited about it,” he said of teaching. “It’s almost like, ‘Wow! I can’t believe I’ve gotten to this point in my life.’ ”

Pierce was hired in September as one of the program’s clinical instructors.

In the years since he graduated from the school, Pierce earned his registered nursing certification and worked in a hospital before returning to Chautauqua Rehab as a supervisor last year.

The 52-year-old took a roundabout approach to the nursing profession, applying to programs twice and then finding reasons not to go. Instead, he did a short stint in the Army before going into furniture building full time. He came full circle about seven years ago when a back surgery prompted him to reconsider his first career choice.

“I do believe everything lined up for a reason,” Pierce said.

The offer not only to apply his skills but to teach them came from a former instructor of Pierce’s, Trecia Meadows, who now oversees the program at the Career Development Center.

She approached him one day over the summer and asked if he’d be interested.

“I said, ‘What? I’ve never thought of teaching,’ ” Pierce recalled.

Meadows said from her perspective Pierce was an ideal candidate for the job. He was a supervisor at one of the school’s top clinical training locations and was a great student who had been recognized by his peers with a leadership award and a bedside manner award.

“He’s very driven, and I like that,” Meadows said.

Pierce said he accepted the offer because he’d always enjoyed educating patients, and this was a way to ensure the kind of care he believed in continued.

“I don’t think I’ll ever give up the clinical just to teach,” he said. “I want the best of both worlds.”